We go camping two or three times a year and are always looking to see other areas of the state, we generally go to state park campgrounds. Deep Creek lake was about a three hour drive from home, further than we have travelled in the past for a two night camping trip, but it was an experiment.... will it be too far to travel to set up and break down camp for a two night trip? We did well and it opens up the radius of our camping options.
The campground is huge. The sites are spread out for the most part. We chose site 64, it was on the outside of the loops, in between both loops. We had a lot of privacy. There was a trail that ran along the outside of the campground, but we literally saw five people the whole time. It wasn't an issue at all. The site was clean and had a bear box, of which we used.
The campground was not full, but we were there prior to Memorial Day, and for what we enjoy, this was perfect. It got chilly at night, but we had jackets, so we were fine - and prepared. It did rain, a lot, on Saturday afternoon and through to about 8pm. We didn't let it put a damper on our trip (pun, get it?) though.
The Deep Creek Lake area is pretty touristy, which could be good or bad. Again, it was before memorial day, so it was quite empty. The other good thing is that there are restaurants in the area, and we went out to dinner on Saturday night, which was a bonus because it was raining. We went to Brenda's Pizzeria. Hot and cheesy pizza, no complaints here.
The ONE complaint that we had was that there were only two bathhouses. It was a huge campground and it was quite a walk to the bathroom. We've never had that experience, so it took some thought regarding middle of the night trips to the bathroom.
The bathroom was clean and the showers had HOT water! I usually do not take a shower when we are camping, especially when the weather is cool, but I was pretty cold and wet from the rain, so we showered before dinner on Saturday and it was so refreshing.
On the whole, this was a great park with plenty of amenities. The hiking trails are picturesque and well marked. You'll have a nice time if you choose Deep Creek Lake. We didn't partake in any lake activities because it was cold and just not on our agenda, but if that's your thing, you will have plenty of options.
Happy camping!